A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Download…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which also helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more features which your existing customers do not really want or require
add charges, restrictions or costs to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Download
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank automatically validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately recently a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about running out of money and the additional action. But that does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Download